Some of the many compelling benefits of online nursing education include greater flexibility and convenience, particularly for older students who are switching careers. Online nursing education also offers interactive learning elements, better learning retention, self-paced learning, and collaboration with peers and faculty.
When online learning was an emerging technology, students would watch or listen to a recorded version of their professor’s lecture. Today, online education is a far more engaging and interactive experience that supports how students learn best. There are many benefits to online nursing education, which means a hybrid nursing program could be a great fit for you when you’re ready to make a career change to nursing.
Concordia University, St. Paul’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program offers hybrid nursing education, so students can enjoy the benefits of online learning for nurses-in-training. Our comprehensive curriculum, which includes immersive clinical learning experiences and online coursework, prepares our students in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon, to provide evidence-based care to diverse patient populations.
If you’re thinking about making a career change to nursing with an Accelerated BSN program like ours at CSP Global, take a closer look at how online nursing school works and the benefits of online learning in nursing school.
How Does Online Nursing School Work?
Many degree programs can be completed 100% online, while others require a hybrid approach. BSN degrees fall into the latter category, as applied learning experiences are a necessity for future nurses. Here’s how it works:
- Online coursework: You’ll complete nursing theory courses online. Your coursework teaches essential nursing knowledge, from patient assessments to pharmacology and beyond.
- In-person labs: You’ll commute to our ABSN learning center you are enrolled with in either Portland, Oregon, or St. Paul, Minnesota, for nursing skills labs. In our skills labs, which are equipped with nursing education technology, you’ll learn how to perform various nursing skills including wound care and nasogastric tube insertion.
- Clinical learning experiences: Another in-person learning component is clinical learning experiences, which take place locally with our clinical partners and in community-based agencies. You’ll work alongside experienced nurses and other professionals as you practice providing care within the full scope of a professional nurse under supervision.
CSP Global’s ABSN program is accelerated, which means you can earn a quality BSN in as few as 16 months. Expect a busy schedule. ABSN students may spend 40 to 60 hours each week in nursing classes, labs, and clinical experiences, as well as studying and completing assignments. It’s challenging, but countless nurses have successfully completed ABSN programs, and you can, too.
How long does it take to become a nurse? Discover your fastest path toward earning a BSN.
Why Online Education Is Transforming Nursing
For many students, online education is the key to making nursing school more accessible. This is especially true among older students who are switching careers. With online education, students can enjoy:
- Better work/life balance
- Less time spent commuting
- Diverse digital learning tools
- Digital collaboration and networking opportunities
- Better organization of course materials
- Affordable education
For the field in general, online education is a game-changer because it can help schools enroll more students, thereby addressing the critical nursing shortage in the U.S.
Benefits of Online Learning for Nurses
The ABSN program at Concordia University, St. Paul ensures that online classes provide educational value equal to that of in-person classes. Our baccalaureate degree program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), signifying that, while accelerated, the quality of the program is entirely equal to a traditional four-year degree program.
In other words, you can enjoy the many benefits of online nursing education while knowing that you’re receiving career-focused, quality education.
1. You Can Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Not everyone has the time or desire to sit in a physical classroom for several hours each day. This makes the flexibility to create your own schedule while completing the online portion of the curriculum a major advantage for students in CSP’s ABSN.
CSP’s online learning management system (LMS) lets you log in to the online portal from both your smartphone and laptop, giving you unparalleled access to materials for any given course.
2. It’s a Personalized Learning Experience at Your Own Pace
As an ABSN student, one of the benefits of online nursing education is that you can approach it at your own pace. You can work through courses and complete assignments according to your own established study routine, provided you meet deadlines.
Our online instructors remain available to address any questions you may have, but you can approach them at your own pace and retain ownership over your nursing education experience.
3. Dynamic Educational Online Content for All Learning Preferences
Our LMS has a variety of interactive activities that are conducive to your personal learning preferences. From discussion forums to video content to interactive activities, you can engage with course material in multiple ways.
In traditional nursing programs, students typically show up to hear a lecture and try to take notes while following along with the presentation. This can be a lot of content to take in at once, and if you don’t understand the information as it’s presented, you can start to lose focus and fall behind.
Instead, the online courses at CSP Global include interactive elements. Featuring 3D animations, simulated scenarios, and advanced graphic design elements, these interactive activities can help you learn in a creative way. For example, one assignment may consist of identifying the arterial pulse sites on a 3D animation of the human body. Matching each site to its proper location will help you visualize and conceptualize each site’s function better than before.
Some of the other online interactive activities offered through our ABSN program may include exercises like:
- A teen pregnancy case study
- Digestive system matching
- EKG interpretation
- Identifying sugar levels in food
While the interactive elements at Concordia University, St. Paul are cutting-edge, traditional education resources are just as important. You will notice that your interactive activities coincide with your lectures and assigned textbook readings.
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4. Connecting With Nursing Faculty and Classmates via Online Learning
Other benefits of online learning in nursing school include opportunities to connect with others, much like in traditional classrooms. Throughout the 16-month span of the program, you will have various opportunities to interact with instructors via email, video conferencing, and discussion forums.
There is a live video conference feature within the online learning portal that allows your instructors to explain perplexing concepts and answer questions in real time.
Just because your professors are online doesn’t mean you can’t build strong professional relationships with them. The more you contact them, the more they will facilitate your academic success. Over time, they can serve as a partner in your career advancement and professional growth.
5. View Material as Often as Needed for Learning Retention
Another advantage of online coursework is the ability to rewatch videos or complete interactive activities more than once. Repetition is helpful for learning retention, and the online learning system allows for limitless repetition. As a result, you’ll feel prepared to take the NCLEX-RN after graduation.
6. Demonstrate Technological Proficiency as a Student
Nursing is a high-tech career these days. As a professional nurse, you’ll be expected to adapt quickly to different software platforms for tasks like charting, as well as different healthcare technologies. Having familiarity with the technology used for online learning, as well as the technology in skills labs, will help you prepare for professional practice.
Are You Ready to Learn Online?
After exploring the many benefits of an online nursing education, you can see how much our hybrid ABSN program has to offer. It’s flexible, interactive, and adaptive, while also providing the in-person clinical learning experiences that nurses-in-training need to succeed. At Concordia University, St. Paul, you’ll benefit from extensive student support throughout your nursing school journey, including thorough NCLEX prep to help you obtain licensure.
Contact an admissions advisor today for personalized assistance as you navigate the admission process. We offer rolling admissions and three start dates each year, so you can execute a career change sooner.